Note: This post—a response to Reddit's free speech argument in the wake of Gawker's…
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Sincerely,
Soapboxer

Dear Soapboxer,
The truth is, what your freedom of speech is and where it applies is actually very simple, but our understanding of it has been distorted, mostly because people use "free speech" as a weapon where it doesn't apply, and often as a shield to hide behind when they're being criticized. Even so, free speech has never been a more valuable right, especially on the internet, where governments, companies, and individuals all try to control their image and what people say about them. I'm no constitutional lawyer, but there are plenty of ways to exercise your speech freely online. First, let's brush up on our US civics, shall we?

What the First Amendment Really Says

The first amendment to the Constitution says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This amendment (and all of the other amendments to the Constitution) were added because the Constitution itself, according to its drafters (and the states, which had to ratify it), didn't offer enough protections for the civil liberties from the powers of government. This is very important: freedom of speech, along with the other freedoms in the first amendment, are designed to protect the liberties of the populace against an oppressive government that would seek to squash those rights in its own self-interest. Photo by Brent Payne.

Private entities and private spaces, however, are largely not required to protect your speech, and the first amendment does not protect what you say—only your right to speak. This means that you can say what you choose, but the nature of free speech is that others are free to say what they choose as well, even if it means disagreeing with you or mounting a campaign of people to respond to you. Keep these points in mind as we discuss how your freedom of speech plays out on the internet.

Free Speech and Censorship on the Internet

Earlier in our nation's history, most towns and cities had a "public square" at the heart of a community where people could meet, discuss, and hear the news and issues of the day. It was usually the place where officials made proclamations, candidates spoke and stumped for votes (directly analogous to today's "town hall" meetings), and in general where the people could gather and speak freely. Those public squares have all but disappeared, and while there are still town halls and other public spaces for speech, the true heart of most communities today are private places of commerce or entertainment (malls, stores, stadiums.) Photo by BLMOregon.

Today, most of us turn to the internet because the tools are free and available: Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, newspapers, blogs with comment sections, forums, they all offer one-click methods for us to speak our minds. However, when you leave a comment on a company's Facebook page, post to a Reddit thread, or tweet your grievances, you're speaking in privately owned spaces. This means you should have no expectation that your speech is somehow protected beyond that service's terms of use. That said, when it comes to freedom of speech on the internet, there are two truths that are almost universal:

Most spaces on the internet are privately owned, and have no obligation to allow you to speak freely in their space. Whether it's Facebook removing content that violates its own terms of service, a blog owner deleting a comment they find offensive, or a big company deleting user posts from its Facebook page, your speech may be censored, but you have no first amendment right to free speech in those places. This includes our discussions on Lifehacker—we've always held our community up to high standards, and if you start a discussion we find isn't up to those standards, we reserve our right to dismiss it.

Most companies know it's in their own best interest to allow you to speak freely on their platforms. When you hear any company say "we support/stand for freedom of speech," what they really mean is that by honoring your freedom of speech, they know they can successfully build a community, attract users, attract views, attract advertisers, and make money. They may truly value free speech, don't get us wrong, and most companies know that success means taking the bad with the good, but that doesn't make it your right. They just know it's in their best interest to say they value it, and act accordingly.

While "censorship" can apply to any type of speech suppression, censorship in the context of "free speech" is generally reserved for speech that's suppressed by government or state actors. A company deleting your post on their Facebook page about how their product was a waste of your money, even if you think the post was relevant or witty, is not state suppression of your speech. It may be censorship, but your freedom of speech has not been violated. Photo by Newtown Grafitti.

Remember this when you speak on the internet. While Reddit or Twitter may feel like the new "public square," they aren't. This means your speech is not constitutionally protected unless specified in the terms of use for that service, and those can change at the whim of the service or platform provider. Plus, governments know that they can lean on companies to change their rules (see SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA) and restrict private speech as well (see Twitter working with local governments to censor objectionable material,) regardless of whether they can do it in public. All isn't lost though—some speech is protected, and there are places where you can say what you choose.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) are two bills that sound like they…
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What Speech on the Internet Is Protected?

That's a difficult question. Legal challenges abound on this topic, many of which attempt to define what's protected in an era the line between public and private is blurred and the vast majority of people treat the internet like a public space. For example, some argue that clicking "like" is protected speech because of its public nature, and others argue that your tweets and blog posts are protected speech. To date, most courts have come down on the side of "use a private service, you're subject to their rules and moderation, but government cannot interfere with your private speech and individuals cannot silence your speech just because they dislike it." Photo by Thomas Angermann.

Remember when we noted that freedom of speech doesn't stop others from speaking out against you? This point is important too: too often on the internet "freedom of speech" is used as a defense mechanism to deflect criticism, when in reality it was framed in order to promote self-policing and self-criticism of communities and governments by the people. In short, freedom of speech means everyone gets to speak publicly, whether they agree or disagree with you. If you speak your mind (in a public space) and find a group of people shouting back at you, your rights aren't being trampled, you're just unpopular—and all of you have the right to speak.

Where Can I Speak Freely?

So where can you speak freely if you find your opinions are no longer welcome on a company's Facebook page, or if you've been banned from commenting on a blog? You can set up your own space to speak—as in start your own blog and invite people to come and participate in a truly free discussion with you, or start your own Facebook page where you air your grievances with the company that won't respond to you anymore. Again, because these are actually private spaces, your speech is only as protected as your service provider's whim. If you start a free blog at Wordpress or Tumblr, you have to stay inside the lines of acceptable use. If you start a Facebook page, you have to adhere to Facebook's TOS. Make sure to read them carefully.

Your best bet is to get a decent web host and host your own blog where you can say what you like. When you host your own speech, you're now the party with the terms—you can be as lenient or restrictive as you choose. You may not have the audience you wanted (that Facebook page's subscribers or forum's readers), but free speech protects your right to speak—it doesn't force others to listen. You're still subject to your hosting company's TOS, and it's still a semi-private space, but it's the closest you can get to public on the internet, and most hosting companies don't care what you say as long as it doesn't get them into legal trouble.